catclaw

Never realized that a feeder got one quite so aroused

My tripod is plenty heavy duty enough to shoot off of- especially with a pack or something under the buttstock- that would be stable! I had time to build a bench rest out of flag stone a couple of years ago- stacked them up and set my pack on them for a sitting, bench rest shot. Had a big bull at LONG range and just as I went to trip the trigger, saw that his main beam was busted so I didn't shoot. I had a rock steady hold on the bugger though. A good shooting platform can't be overstated!

Great stuff Amanda and Scott!

I have never been able to get the blood STAINS off of mine. I have tried cleaners, car wash etc. I gave up. Hydrogen peroxide might work now that I think about it!

There have been some good suggestions on here. I got this little rest from a vendor at the SHOT show one year and it was only a prototype at that time- don't know if they marketed it or not, but I think it was $5 or thereabouts. My son have killed untold pest birds off of it and I used it on an elk hunt for a guy to make a long shot as well. I haven't used it myself on a big game hunt yet. Maybe I will get a chance this year. I weighs only a couple of ounces as it is made of some type of dense foam This is the only link I could find for it. http://www.oegmag.com/PhilsHuntingAccessoriesriflerest.html The Jim White one that Amanda sells is probably just as good and priced right.

OK, I got to use my new tripod on two different week-long hunts; one in Nevada and one in NM. I got to use a Jim White head again on this trip as well. I think the JW head is very well made- I don't like how the adjusting arm sticks down so far- it's just not my style. The guy who had it said he bought it because Jim helped him a lot with his unit 8 elk tag a while back and wanted to patronize him. He is ambivelant about it and doesn't prefer it to his other heads. I bought a Velbon El Carmagne 640. It is a 4-section leg design so it is real short for putting in my pack. It is quite light and very sturdy. It came with a pan/fluid head that is too bulky for my uses and I switched out for a Bogen ball head and will use the Velbon head for videoing only- or possibly photography when I don't have to pack it in. The Velbon is easy to set up and didn't "vibrate" in the wind. It was a pleasure to use compared to my 15-year-old Manfrotto. I got it for just a shade under $300 from a distributor in Scottsdale. Considering it came with a head, this is a real bargain. As I looked in some camera mags I see there are a few "house brands" that look pretty good as well. Gitzo has some company now! To those of you who have the lighter ones- I wish you well. I like the sturdiness of this one when I am standing. Most are decent while sitting. I like to glass both ways-especially in the tall grass. There are very fet trripods out there that will let one stand and glass without stooping over. Hope this helps someone out.

I believe ALL the jurisdictions in Maricopa and Pima county are required to enforce this new law and come up with their own in their jurisdictions. However, it is NOT county wide but limited to certain areas deemed to be problematic. It is a mandate from the Feds because we didn't meet our air quality standards in 2006. The senate passed this law in a hasty manner and it doesn't allow ANY travel on a road that isn't paved or covered with a dust eliminating material- in Scottsdale it's 4" of gravel I believe. There are apparently some roads that you can still use, but it is illegal to pull off the road to park so you can hunt. They are working on changing the language to allow for hunting but I haven't heard if they have passed it or not. The 4x4ers in Scottsdale wanted to lynch the city council over this thing. I guess everyone jumped the gun- especially our legislators!

Maybe the birds are tripping it in the day buy I am getting the ghost pictures again- a complete "green" out?? Anyone had these type of photos? I guess I'll have to post one when I am back at my computer.

How many have them? Any opinions? This is my first digital trail cam so it is a new thing to me. I wanted to figure it out before I set it somewhere too wild so I have it hanging from a tree in my back yard where I feed birds. (I feed them peanuts on a large rock) The first time I checked it after about 2 days it had upwards of 170 pics on it already and almost none of them had anything living in them. About 30 of them were completely green or black like negatives! I turned the sensitivity to low and don't get as many spurious photos. I got quite a few jays and last night I got a coon! I had no idea we even had them around here! An odd thing is that while checking it a couple of days ago, I found that among my still photos were two video clips! I have no idea how they slipped in there! i'll try and add a pic

I am headed out tomorrow to NM for a hunt that starts Saturday. Just got back from guiding a hunter in Nevada where we killed a 31" deer (the only kind they have in Nevada ) Hope this one goes as well- best part is that I have the tag this time!

Awesome!

I don't think he specialized in the types of rifles most of us on here use! Another one if you want to stay in AZ is Danny Pederson in Prescott. He is also a first-rate barrel maker. There are a lot of guys who will take your money but only a few who have reputations that can't afford to be sullied. David Miller will build you a new custom rifle for $20K but unless you are buddies with him, I don't think he will do any barreling work for you. Here is Danny's website Danny Pederson- Classic Barrel Works

Depends on the velocity. I saw a antelope buck hit with a 150 @ 3600 fps (muzzle) and it totally destroyed the guy's cape- entry hole was pie- plate sized! My buddy used one on his buck in 24A a couple of years ago and at 400 yds, was picture perfect! Are you hording buckets of IMR 4831? There are better powders these days for hunting that are less temperature sensitive and will probably give you 50fps higher velocities.

The camera is securely fastened to the tree trunk. I have a large boulder that I set peanuts on for the jays. I was getting a TON of empty photos but it could be that a bird tripped it and the shutter speed on this camera is no Nikon D3! I aimed it lower and this seems to have helped. It SEEMS that the sensor and the camera are not pointed at the same place. I got a coyote on it last night, but only the back half as he passed through- did not even touch the bait. Once I get a good enough feel for it, I will put it somewhere that I can get some bigger critters and from further away. And incidentally, the camera is pointing basically north. Why is this a big deal? most of the stuff is at night anyway!

Ask Casey- I think he knows a good one

Catclaw, what is it about the Jim White tripod head that you don't like? It has been a while since I used it but it was too heavy, didn't pan the way I like and the angle of the handle sticking down was awkward for me. Then there is the price tag. I have completely switched to ball heads for glassing- I can move more freely and don't seemed to get fatigued as easily as with the pan/tilt.

I haven't blown any seams in the Santiams, in fact, the uppers look quite nice, but the midsole has broken down and the bobs have all torn off. The fit is terrible. I think they used ET's foot for the last pattern! The Meindl Perfekts are not the same as the heavier ones, They have a one-piece-sole and are comfortable but don't hold up in rough country like the Alaskans, Canadians or Denalis. Cabelas will stand behind them though.

I have used a lot of them. I have used the Outdoorsmans as well but too heavy for what I want. I have never seen this vibration problem that Floyd is talking about. CF actually resists vibration better that AL, so it surprises me that he would draw this conclusion. I don't care for the Jim White head and most of the people that I know who have one don't use it anymore either. I am completely converted to ball heads. I will never go back to a pan head for glassing. Now for videoing- the pan head is much better. The pistol grip heads are terrible too (but I guess, they are technically a ball head!) I ordered a Velbon this morning and we will see if it is what I want. I am going to Hong Kong in may and if the Velbon isn't what I want, I will find something in Hong Kong- I here there are bargains to be had!

Floyd has two tripods and neither one are CF. His are "proprietary" and typical of everything else over there, way over priced. I heard Tempe camera has some stuff but not really a full line. According to the only camera store in Prescott, the nearest "real" camera store is in Las Vegas. I am going to Hong Kong in May and might wait until them, but I am going to Nevada for two weeks to guide and have a Dec WT hunt coming up here and would like a new one for that hunt but could probably make my old one do! Doug, I have been looking at the Manfrotto stuff online. I am tempted to order the 055CXPro3 or CX3 but not just yet. These are tall enough and more robust than the 190 series (better in the wind I am sure) I haven't found a single other tripod that specs how I want except the Gitzo Mountaineers!

The Danners are lasted quite narrow- I can't believe you can't wear them. If you guys are talking about cheap Chinese made Danners I have no idea, but the expensive, made in Oregon ones are a sham! I am very hard on boots and anything less than a good pair won't last me two seasons. Rockys last me two hunts! I bought a pair of Santiams ($300 range) Danners. The bob soles have all broken off the boots are overly soft, they are too narrow and leak through the Gore-tex. I can't wear them in steep country at all as they kill my feet. I bought them for a Canadian hunt and they were marginal in that country. I'm not sure what they are good for. The Lowas and Meindls (Cabelas) are FANTASTIC rough country boots. I gave a worn out pair to my guide in Canada and he threw away his Danner Canadians ($300) and said the Meindls are twice as good. I suspect the Kennetreks are just as good but they are made in Italy and the Lowas and Meindls are made in Germany. I have seen Cabela's Italian made boots and they are not as good as the Meindls- I have no idea if it's the same factory as Kennetrek or not. I wore an almost brand new pair of Russell PH boots for 3 weeks during my archery elk hunt. I got them out this weekend as they are quiet and they are shredded. Very comfortable but they don't hold up in malapai or rocky country. But they are quiet for stalking so I wore them out anyway. Boots are a very subjective thing

In this price range, the Fujinon Polaris 16x70 is by FAR the best. Fujinon still makes their marine series (FMT-SX). I used to own a set and used them a lot. I spent a week on a sheep hunt with a guy who had 15x56 SLCs. The Fujinons were right there. They are very big however. You can find them at any of the Brooklyn camera shops for $575-$750. The 15x60HDs that Fujinon made were terrible- don't even consider them. The Bruntons have a poor reputation for holding up. I have heard horror story after horror story with both the epochs (very expensive) and the Eternas. I haven't heard anything bad about the Minox. The Pentax and Minoltas that I have looked through were horrible. Right up there with the 20x Steiners and Meads. A very good point was brought up in this thread- the fact that these large ROOF prism binoculars will not accommodate the eyes of a very large number of potential users. I have many friends who cannot use my 15x56 SLCs because they are too wide at the narrowest they go. The Leicas are even worse! If you have eyes like this, you will need to find a porro prism design binocular such as the aforementioned Fujinon FMT-SX or the old Zeiss 15x60s or the old Doctor 15x60s. It's unfortunate that people are more concerned with aesthetics than performance. All other things being equal, a porro glass will be sharper, brighter and cheaper than a roof prism design. They have one less prism per side and are far easier to build. They look old fashioned so they don't sell. There hasn't been a binocular built that can hold a candle to the Nikon Superior Es. Period. I believe they are discontinued now too!

The Leica Geovids do not compare favorably to the Swarovskis, especially in the 10 and more so in the 15s (terrible). They are unduly heavy and not at all handy for one-handed operation. They also suck for tripod mounting. I would caution against spending your money on them for your OWN hunting. If you are guiding, they are much more useful. You can get a range for your hunter without losing sight of the deer. A big plus. If Leica made them in a smaller package I would own one (say 7x35 or 8x30). I much prefer my SLCs and my LRF to the Geovid for my OWN hunting. I bought a new Nikon 800 which is better for one-handed operation and like it in conjunction with the 8x30 as well. I have not seen the new Zeiss so I can't comment on it. I would prefer a spotting scope with a laser in it over the 15 power Geovids- what a waste!

The interesting thing is that as you lose hearing, you become MORE sensitive to loud noises, not less as customary wisdom would suggest. I can't stand muzzle brakes for that reason. I designed some a few year ago and we had several rifles put together with them. The problem with most muzzle brakes is that they spray gasses out the bottom of the brake and blow dirt all over everywhere. The ones we made only had holes on the sides. This kept dirt from blowing all over when shooting prone. The down side is that it requires the brake to be timed perfectly to screw on and line up at 90 degrees. I got tired of the noise and switched to scopes with more eye relief and stocks with better recoil pads.

I sent a pre-64 Mod 70 to Doug as well and had it Titanium Blue coated. Took it to Kodiak and used it as a walking stick and an oar- held up great.